Betting Matchup Preview
Game Details
- Who: Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
- When: Wednesday, September 7
- Time: 6:40 p.m. EDT
- Where: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
Betting Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Red Sox +144, Rays -172
- Runline: Red Sox +1.5 (-152), Rays -1.5 (+126)
- Total: Over/Under 7.0 Runs (-115/-105)
Note: MLB baseball odds and lines are current at the time of publishing and subject to change.
According to Baseball Reference, the Boston Red Sox have a 0.2% chance to make the postseason, and <0.1% to win the 2022 World Series. FanDuel has the Red Sox at +200000 to win the Fall Classic.
But we play the games, don’t we? And the Sox are proving to be interesting in September. After a five-game winning streak, the team has lost two straight against Tampa Bay, which is a superior team, clawing to catch the Yankees in the standings. The division rivals finish this three-game series today and will not meet again until the last three games of the season, in October.
Starting Pitchers
Nick Pivetta (9-10, 4.37 ERA, 145 Ks) vs. Jeffrey Springs (7-4, 2.62 ERA, 117 Ks)
Pivetta is not just pitching to earn a paycheck. He’s auditioning for the offseason when he’ll be a free agent. If Boston decides to re-sign the free agent right-hander, they will need to see more of what Pivetta looked like in May and June when he was 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA.
Since July 1, he has a 6.34 ERA in 11 starts and can be blamed for the team collapse as much as any member of the pitching staff.
Maybe even opponents are frustrated with Pivetta: Last time he pitched, he was knocked out of the game when a comebacker struck him in the left calf. But, Alex Cora is handing Pivetta the ball here to conclude a series that is not crucial for the Red Sox, is for Tampa Bay.
Tampa’s Jeffrey Springs is doing something right this season. After a barrel percentage of 13.2% in 2020-21, he’s holding opposing batters to 6.3% in 2022, according to Baseball Savant. His ERA is 2.62 in a career-high number of innings as the apparently clairvoyant Rays have switched him from the bullpen to starter and once again produced a gem.
This is Springs’ third start against the Yankees in 2022, and he has a 1.62 ERA against New York with 17 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings.
Hot Hitters
Xander Bogaerts went hitless on Tuesday, ending his string of multi-hit games. But Alex Verdugo is still hot: he has three straight two-hit games (6-for-13).
Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena had three hits off the Red Sox on Tuesday. He’s hitting .394 since August 27, with nine hits in his last four games against Boston.
Isaac Paredes has two home runs off Pivetta, but the Tampa Bay slugger is streaky, and we don’t have confidence in him as a prop bet currently.
Our Best Bet Today
- Jeffrey Springs 7+ Strikeouts (+182 via FanDuel Sportsbook)
On Tuesday, if you had placed the Forbes Best Bet, you would have banked $550 on a $100 wager (Randy Arozarena to hit a homer AND the Rays to win).
Can we keep our winning streak going? We like Springs to reach seven strikeouts (he had eight Ks against Boston on August 27). He’s reached at least seven strikeouts in seven of his starts in 2022.
Our Same-Game Parlay
A winning $100 wager on this same-game parlay will return $873 plus your original $100 bet.
- Alex Verdugo To Record 2+ Hits (+290)
- Randy Arozarena To Record an RBI (+150)
In his last 14 games, Verdugo is hitting like Wade Boggs (.345 on 20-for-58). He has three consecutive two-hit games and eight in his last 13 starts. Since August 5, Verdugo is one of MLB’s hottest hitters, batting .358 with 43 hits in 30 games, a .421 OBP, and .521 SLG.
Arozarena has four RBI in this series, and in his last 25 games he’s driven in 23 runs.
